(A) Generally. The Town Marshal or the Planning Board shall grant or deny an application for a permit within 30 days from the date of its proper filing. Upon the expiration of 30 days, unless the applicant requests and is granted a reasonable extension of time, the applicant shall be permitted to begin operating the business for which the permit is sought, unless and until the Town Marshal or Planning Board notifies the applicant of a denial of the application and states the reason(s) for that denial.
(B) Grant of application for permit.
(1) The Town Marshal or Planning Board shall grant the application unless one or more of the criteria set forth in division (C) below is present.
(2) The permit, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the expiration date, and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit shall also indicate that the sexually oriented business shall be subject to prohibitions against public nudity and indecency pursuant to the I.C. 35-45-4-1. The permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually oriented business so that it can be read easily at any time.
(C) Denial of application for permit.
(1) The Town Marshal or Planning Board shall deny the application for any of the following reasons:
(a) An applicant is under 18 years of age;
(b) An applicant or an applicant’s spouse is overdue on his or her payment to the town for taxes, fees, fines, or penalties assessed against him or her or imposed upon him or her in relation to a sexually oriented business;
(c) An applicant is residing with a person who has been denied a permit by the Town Marshal or Planning Board to operate a sexually oriented business within the preceding 12 months, or residing with a person whose permit to operate a sexually oriented business has been revoked within the preceding 12 months;
(d) An applicant has failed to provide information required by this section or permit application for the issuance of the permit or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form;
(e) The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business have not been approved as complying with health, fire, and building codes by the department or agency responsible under law for investigating said compliance;
(f) The application or permit fees required by this chapter have not been paid;
(g) An applicant of the proposed business is in violation of or does not comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or the Planning Board ordinances;
(h) The applicant has a permit under this chapter that has been suspended or revoked; and/or
(i) An applicant has been convicted of a “specified criminal act” for which:
1. Less than two years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a misdemeanor offense for the specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations;
2. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a felony offense for the specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including but not limited to distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations;
3. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the convictions are of two or more misdemeanor offenses for specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including but not limited to distribution of obscenity or materials harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations, offenses occurring within any 24-month period;
4. The fact that conviction is being appealed shall have no effect on disqualification of the applicant;
5. An applicant who has been convicted of the above described specified criminal acts may qualify for a sexually oriented business permit only when the time required in division (C)(1)(i) above has elapsed; and/or
6. An applicant knowingly has in his or her employment, an employee who does not have a valid license as required in § 111.35.
(2) If the Town Marshal or Planning Board denies the application, they shall notify the applicant of the denial and state the reason(s) for the denial within 30 days of proper filing of the application.
(3) If a person applies for a permit for a particular location within a period of 12 months from the date of denial of a previous application for a permit at the location, and there has not been an intervening change in the circumstances which could reasonably be expected to lead to a different decision regarding the former reasons for denial, the application shall be denied.
(Ord. 2006-6, passed 10-2-2006)